Some Thoughts {on} The Whole Unprocessed Thing



I've recently come to a few startling realizations. The first one is that it is next to impossible to eat unprocessed in this day and age. The second is that I still want to eat unprocessed in this day and age.

I have seen such good results in this first month. The biggest one being that my cravings are gone. I do not crave any food - ever. It's crazy. Cravings have been such a huge part of my life for sooooo long. To not be totally controlled by them has brought me much freedom. Freedom that I never knew I needed to experience. I guess I just always accepted uncontrollable (??) cravings as part of life. Now I know better.

The other big thing is weight loss. I've lost 10 lbs already and I keep going down ... little by little. This has never happened to me before. I might go down a little but then I go up, further up. Then I go down a little but then I go up again ... more than before.. The little I go down has always been overtaken by the more I go up. I thought that I was doomed to stay like that. Now i know better.

I feel good. I feel healthy. I eat without guilt. My bowels move healthier and more regularly. (I won't tell you any more about that ... at least, not until I'm on Oprah, where everyone goes to talk about their poo.) I feel like I'm doing right by my kids. Teaching them healthy habits. Helping them to know better.

I feel like there is a lot more to do. And I don't want to give up.

I don't do that easily. Give up, I'm talking about. If something isn't going the way I want it to, I attack it with everything I've got. I research and plan and talk to people and plan and organize and rethink and plan and read and ... have I mentioned plan already ?

I've been trying to come up with a solution. My problem at the moment is time. I don't have as much of it as I used to. I know this is a common problem that many of us face.

This morning I was talking to Shay ... ya'll know her right ? It's too bad if you don't. You really should. Anyway ... she and I problem solve each others lives all the time and this morning was no different. In throwing ideas back and forth, we've come up with a couple of things that I think are going to be really helpful.

The first was an amazing idea by Shay to have meal portions in the freezer. So ... frozen tortillas, cooked rice, bread, etc ... I do some of those things but I'm going to concentrate on doing more. The tortillas are going to be my first task ! Getting homemade tortillas into the freezer will be a great help. That will make burritos and chimichangas and fajitas quick and easy meals again !!

And dips. I'm going to concentrate on trying lots of new dips. They are great to have on hand when you are eating so many vegetables !! Especially for school lunches ....

The second is that when I make my menu plans from now on, I'm going to make myself a master grocery list for that week. That means that in future weeks, if I find I'm busy and can't make a menu, I have some already planned, I can just re-print the grocery list, cross off what I already have in the house and be on my way ! Easy, right ? I'm hoping so ....

I hope it will give me a good supply of ready planned menu's and shopping lists. I will try to figure out how to make the shopping lists available here too for anyone of you who might want to use them ...

The third thing is that I just really really really have to be organized. Today I will sit down with my schedule and work out what day I will menu plan, what day I will shop (and get my online shopping happening again !!) and what day I will do the cooking to keep our freezer stocked. It just takes a little planning and a bit of work getting into new habits but sheesh ... that's the story of my life ! Once the habits are formed, and the plans are made, the work is minimal. And the reward is great.

Those are my thoughts at the moment. In my schedule planning as well, I'm going to work out how best to get recipes posted. It may just mean, I have to do them every other day rather than every day like I once aspired to do. But ... flexibility plays a bit part in having my fingers in as many pies as I do !!

I hit publish post before I read through this whole thing and it ended rather abruptly. But ... I don't really have all that much else to say ... so, there you have it.

The End.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

congrats on the weightloss :)) and goodbye cravings. woot woot~ so happy for you!

Amy said...

FANTASTIC!!! Bonnie major kudos my friend!! I love all that you are sharing! Can I ask what your book were that you read? AND what plan/eating style you are following?

:) Hugs.. Amy

andrafaye said...

This is great to hear...and encouraging...
Way to go!

Sarah said...

The time is the biggest issue I face as well. If I don't have a plan, well, that's where we fall down. Plus, i spend more hours in the kitchen than I ever used to. I like it, as long as I feel like I can do it without feeling like I should be somewhere else! Have you read Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day? That is how I make my bread now, which helps a lot. I grind my wheat in my VitaMix and usually make about 4 loaves in a week to go with soups, stews, or something else. It's way easier than baking from scratch every day! Looking forward to hearing more from you!